The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Announces the Orlando Area April 2020 Employment Data

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity announced that the Orlando area private-sector employment decreased by 179,100 jobs (-15.0 percent) over the year. The unemployment rate in the Orlando area was 16.2 percent in April, up 13.4 percentage points from one year ago.

The industry losing the most jobs over the year was leisure and hospitality (-113,100 jobs). Construction was the only major industry that gained jobs over the year in April 2020 (+600 jobs).

Statewide, Florida businesses lost 989,600 private-sector jobs over the year. In April 2020, the number of jobs decreased by 1,035,500, down 13.2 percent from March 2020. Florida’s unemployment rate increased to 12.9 percent in April 2020. Florida’s labor force was down 893,000 over the month and down 824,000 over the year.